Read Online Wintertide: A Novel by Debra Doxer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Debra Doxer
Ads: Link
included.
While peering into the glass, I
noticed the door swing open behind me. “Here he is,” Seth said beside me.
As he approached us, I saw that he
looked different. Instead of the long hair he’d always worn, the back was cut
short now, and the front just fell over his forehead. His face seemed thinner. When
he stood before me, he extended his hand, and I realized that he looked very
similar to his father now. His smile was wide, displaying his white crooked
teeth. I reached out to grasp his hand, but before I could he swiftly pulled it
away running it smoothly across the top of his head.
"Gotcha," he said, his
dark eyes rimmed with laugh lines.
I forced a grin. "So what’s
with the hair?” I asked, pointing up at his head. His father had always been
after him to get a haircut. His response usually included some unlikely event
occurring in hell or elsewhere.
He shrugged his shoulders in the
careless manner I had seen many times before as he took the seat next to Seth. "I
felt like a change."
Eddie called the bartender over and
ordered a drink while Seth asked for another. I drank slowly from my own cool
bottle while Seth and Eddie gulped theirs down quickly when they arrived.
After wiping a hand across his
mouth, Eddie turned to me. "Did Coop here tell you? I'm working over at
that garage down by the town line."
"I heard," I said. "How
do you like it?"
"The money is pretty good. I'm
actually thinking about opening my own shop eventually."
"Maybe I'll invest a few bucks
if you ever do it?" Seth offered.
"You're on. How about you, Dan?
You want in on this?"
I laughed and shook my head, happy
to have an excellent excuse. "If you wait until I actually have some extra
cash, you'll never open your shop. The day I graduate from college, I'll
already be swimming in debt."
Eddie scoffed at that. "I
thought you college kids were supposed to be smart. That sounds pretty stupid
to me."
"Actually, I might get even
stupider and go on to law school."
Seth turned to me surprised. "You
want to go to law school?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
Eddie laughed. "I can picture
it now. Dan on TV in a suit and tie with an eight-hundred number flashing on
the bottom of the screen. Call Dan, he’ll get you cash for your whiplash."
Seth and Eddie whooped it up loudly.
I noticed some of the other patrons turning to look at them. Eddie called the
bartender over and ordered another round. When a fresh drink arrived, he tilted
his head back and polished off his first one.
"So, Dan? Tell me about some
of the obvious advantages of college life. What are the girls like?” Eddie
pointed at me with the empty brown beer bottle. "Because Coop here is
screwing his way through every sorority house on campus. Right, Coop?”
I raised a suspicious eyebrow at Seth.
He wouldn't meet my gaze. He kept his stare intent on the television screen
while Eddie laid a congratulatory hand on his shoulder. Same old Seth, I
thought, still willing to say anything in an attempt to impress Eddie whose
eyes now challenged me to describe my conquests.
"I don’t think I’m in Seth's
league," I responded.
Seth turned to me, his ever-ready
smile in place.
Not to be outdone, Eddie then
launched into a ridiculous story. Apparently, the BMW of a wealthy, voluptuous,
blonde was towed to the garage where Eddie worked. It was late at night. They
were alone together, and he received payment from her not in cash or credit,
but by satisfying her alleged nymphomaniacal tendencies.
Seth laughed encouragingly at Eddie,
and I suddenly felt like the odd one out once again. But then, a certain
clarity hit me. What the hell was I doing here? This evening was beginning to
represent everything I despised about being with these two. They were phony and
pathetic and I knew this about them and yet here I was again.
It took a sharp nudge from Seth to
attract my attention. The room suddenly came into focus again. "We were
just remembering the time you sprained your ankle by the
While peering into the glass, I
noticed the door swing open behind me. “Here he is,” Seth said beside me.
As he approached us, I saw that he
looked different. Instead of the long hair he’d always worn, the back was cut
short now, and the front just fell over his forehead. His face seemed thinner. When
he stood before me, he extended his hand, and I realized that he looked very
similar to his father now. His smile was wide, displaying his white crooked
teeth. I reached out to grasp his hand, but before I could he swiftly pulled it
away running it smoothly across the top of his head.
"Gotcha," he said, his
dark eyes rimmed with laugh lines.
I forced a grin. "So what’s
with the hair?” I asked, pointing up at his head. His father had always been
after him to get a haircut. His response usually included some unlikely event
occurring in hell or elsewhere.
He shrugged his shoulders in the
careless manner I had seen many times before as he took the seat next to Seth. "I
felt like a change."
Eddie called the bartender over and
ordered a drink while Seth asked for another. I drank slowly from my own cool
bottle while Seth and Eddie gulped theirs down quickly when they arrived.
After wiping a hand across his
mouth, Eddie turned to me. "Did Coop here tell you? I'm working over at
that garage down by the town line."
"I heard," I said. "How
do you like it?"
"The money is pretty good. I'm
actually thinking about opening my own shop eventually."
"Maybe I'll invest a few bucks
if you ever do it?" Seth offered.
"You're on. How about you, Dan?
You want in on this?"
I laughed and shook my head, happy
to have an excellent excuse. "If you wait until I actually have some extra
cash, you'll never open your shop. The day I graduate from college, I'll
already be swimming in debt."
Eddie scoffed at that. "I
thought you college kids were supposed to be smart. That sounds pretty stupid
to me."
"Actually, I might get even
stupider and go on to law school."
Seth turned to me surprised. "You
want to go to law school?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
Eddie laughed. "I can picture
it now. Dan on TV in a suit and tie with an eight-hundred number flashing on
the bottom of the screen. Call Dan, he’ll get you cash for your whiplash."
Seth and Eddie whooped it up loudly.
I noticed some of the other patrons turning to look at them. Eddie called the
bartender over and ordered another round. When a fresh drink arrived, he tilted
his head back and polished off his first one.
"So, Dan? Tell me about some
of the obvious advantages of college life. What are the girls like?” Eddie
pointed at me with the empty brown beer bottle. "Because Coop here is
screwing his way through every sorority house on campus. Right, Coop?”
I raised a suspicious eyebrow at Seth.
He wouldn't meet my gaze. He kept his stare intent on the television screen
while Eddie laid a congratulatory hand on his shoulder. Same old Seth, I
thought, still willing to say anything in an attempt to impress Eddie whose
eyes now challenged me to describe my conquests.
"I don’t think I’m in Seth's
league," I responded.
Seth turned to me, his ever-ready
smile in place.
Not to be outdone, Eddie then
launched into a ridiculous story. Apparently, the BMW of a wealthy, voluptuous,
blonde was towed to the garage where Eddie worked. It was late at night. They
were alone together, and he received payment from her not in cash or credit,
but by satisfying her alleged nymphomaniacal tendencies.
Seth laughed encouragingly at Eddie,
and I suddenly felt like the odd one out once again. But then, a certain
clarity hit me. What the hell was I doing here? This evening was beginning to
represent everything I despised about being with these two. They were phony and
pathetic and I knew this about them and yet here I was again.
It took a sharp nudge from Seth to
attract my attention. The room suddenly came into focus again. "We were
just remembering the time you sprained your ankle by the
Similar Books
